


Gratitude and Love

by EveryFandomHybrid



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Episode: s04e16 One of My Three Soups, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, coming up with the title was harder than writing this, jerome is kind of creepy but he means well, well one kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryFandomHybrid/pseuds/EveryFandomHybrid
Summary: Jerome goes to visit Bruce the night of the incident in the diner. Bruce is sleeping.
Relationships: Jerome Valeska/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	Gratitude and Love

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, me posting something? It must be a miracle. Anyways, I might actually finish a show for once because I only have 11 more episodes of Gotham to watch!
> 
> (Also, please give me prompts or ideas if you have them because i only have ideas for long things and i don't have the motivation or attention span for that)

“Where are you going?” Scarecrow asked, voice raspy and muffled from behind his mask. “You just got your… information, and we still have… plans for the morning.”

“Oh don’t worry about little old me. I’m just going to visit a dear friend of mine,” Jerome replied with a smile. His mouth still ached from the incident in the diner earlier, but he ignored that. After all, he had much more pressing matters to attend to.

  
  
  
  
  


Getting into Wayne Manor was surprisingly easy. Honestly, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say it was a trap. For a billionaire, this kid really had some horrible security. 

That was how Jerome ended up sneaking through a window and into something that looked like a study. It was where he’d found Bruce on the day he’d been brought back – the day he took Bruce to the carnival and saw what was really inside of him. So many good memories from that day. Well, apart from having his face literally punched off, that is.

It didn’t take long for Jerome to find Bruce’s room. Of course, he had to check a few rooms before that and had accidentally ended up finding the butler’s room–who, by the way, slept with a sleeping mask and a nightcap. It was such a ridiculous sight that he’d almost burst out laughing and blown his cover right then and there, but he found Bruce’s room eventually. 

He was pleased to know that Bruce didn’t, in fact, sleep in a sleeping mask and a nightcap. No, he just slept in casual, loose fitting clothes. Which was unfortunate, as Jerome had been hoping that he at least slept half-nude, but oh well. 

Jerome walked around the bed so he could see Bruce’s face, careful not to wake him up. Thankfully, years of abuse had honed his skills of walking quietly as to not get hit, so it was simple enough. To think his mother might have actually given him a skill that wasn’t murdering people.

The first thing Jerome noticed about Bruce was that he looked so peaceful and relaxed when he was sleeping. Jerome had kind of expected him to be an angry sleeper, seeing as he was so angry when he was awake, but that obviously wasn’t the case. The serene look on Bruce’s face made something unfamiliar (but all too familiar when it came to Bruce) flutter in Jerome’s chest. Maybe he did have a heart after all.

Carefully, Jerome sat down on the bed next to Bruce. Then, he eased himself down until he was lying across from Bruce, with only about a foot of space between them. Looking at Bruce and lying next to him, Jerome felt a smile tug at his burned lips. His little dark prince looked so at ease next to Jerome, it was almost hilarious. Almost – but not quite – because Jerome knew that if Bruce were awake right now, then they’d already be wrestling on the floor.

Jerome reached out and attempted to brush a stray strand of hair out of Bruce’s face, but it just fell back into place. That didn’t matter, though. What mattered, was that Bruce Wayne had saved him when no one else had. When no one else had cared, much less batted an eye. Why did he care? Why did this one boy, with such a big heart that was filled to brim with kindness, care about him, a murderer?

Honestly, Jerome would probably never know. Bruce Wayne was an enigma. A puzzle wrapped inside a puzzle. Something, Jerome thought bitterly, that Jeremiah would love to solve. Jeremiah had always loved his puzzles. Not quite as much as labyrinths, but he still loved them all the same.

But no. Now was not the time to think about Jeremiah. Now was the time to think about Bruce; with his big heart, stubborn bravery, and pretty face. His pretty face that, quite honestly, Jerome had conflicted feelings about. 

On one hand, he wanted to gently hold Bruce’s face in his hands, stroking his thumbs over Bruce’s cheekbones and pretty pink lips. He wanted to lean in and kiss him slowly and softly, make him yearn for more. He wanted to watch Bruce break down and fall apart, making such pretty little noises underneath him.

But on the other hand, he wanted to shove Bruce against a wall and kiss him until he bled. He wanted to grab Bruce’s hips and leave bruises there for him to remember Jerome by. He wanted to make Bruce unable to think about anything or anyone other than Jerome ever again. He wanted to bite into his neck, marking him as _mine, mine, mine–_

He wanted to destroy Bruce in the most beautiful ways possible, but he also wanted to love him, to adore him, to give him everything that he could ever want and more. Jerome wanted to give him a bouquet of roses, but he also wanted to watch Bruce bleed when he pricked himself on the thorns. He wanted to burn down Gotham and offer it to Bruce, for Bruce’s bleeding heart to fix.

None of those ideas would ever come to pass though, would they? The answer to that was a definite no, seeing as Jerome planned to be dead soon. He could only hope that Jeremiah would fill his shoes well and give everything to Bruce that he wanted. Jerome tried to ignore the surge of jealousy that filled him at the prospect of Jeremiah having Bruce, and not him. But Jerome had already wormed his way into Bruce’s heart, and he was there to stay, one way or another. Jeremiah would never be the first to do that.

Jerome sighed and took one last look at Bruce’s face. He drank in the sight like a man deprived, letting his eyes wander over every part of his face, memorizing every little detail. The moonlight fell perfectly over Bruce’s face, illuminating his features and making him look like some ethereal being. Maybe he was, and that’s why he was so full of kindness. Gotham’s own personal guardian angel. Jerome smiled at that thought.

Then, he reached out and gently placed his hand on Bruce’s cheek, brushing his thumbs over his cheekbones. Bruce stirred slightly at the contact, but didn’t wake up. Jerome took that opportunity to lean in and place a gentle, chaste kiss to Bruce’s lips. A thank you for saving him.

Jerome smiled and pulled away, rolling out of the bed. He had things to do in the morning, after all, and he couldn’t do those things with no sleep. He took one last look at Bruce before slipping out of his room and back out of the still open window. The curtains fluttered dramatically like a ghost in the wind, leaving no sign that Jerome had even been there in the first place.

  
  
  
  
  


When Bruce awoke the next morning, there was a note on the pillow next to him. It was addressed to Bruce, and written in messy print. 

‘ _Dear my dark prince,_ ’ It said. ‘ _I hope you slept well. I’ll be seeing you around, but ta ta for now :)_

_(P.S., thanks for the kiss. You snore when you sleep)._

_– Sincerely, J xoxo’_


End file.
